“What case? You think it was murder?” Robert wasn’t surprised but had to make sure he was clear on what Steve was thinking.
“I don’t know. If you say it was an accident, I’ll just have to live with that…,” said Steve, swirling the cognac in his glass. “But something just doesn’t feel right. Ever since I saw that bracelet, it’s been bothering me.”
“What bracelet?” Robert asked, his brows arching in curiosity.
“The boy whose father owned the boat found a bracelet aboard after the accident. He thought it belonged to his father…” Steve trailed off.
“But?” The investigator urged.
“The bracelet he showed me… I had that bracelet made for a friend but it wasn’t Charles Butler.”
Steve told him about the bracelet and how he was pretty sure its owner wore it to a meeting with him the day of the accident. Robert’s interest continued to grow and he decided to help Steve get answers that might, at the very least, provide closure. He finished his drink and Steve walked him out. He refused the retainer Steve offered and promised to only bill him if it turned out there was something to investigate.
They parted with Robert promising to get back to Steve in a few days. As he was leaving the Dunmore house, a silver-grey BMW drove in. He only caught a glimpse of the woman behind the wheel. He didn’t stop or slow down. He had other things on his mind, things he had quietly suspected for fifteen years.
Zoe stopped her car at the front door and stepped out. “Daddy, who was that?” She’d passed a Honda CRV on her way in. There was a dark-haired man behind the wheel whom she didn’t recognize. Her father stood on the porch with a weird look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, before he could answer her first question.
“Nothing’s wrong. Just chatted with an old friend,” he told her.
There was something in his tone that told her there was more to it but she let it drop. With her arm around his waist and his arm around her shoulder, they walked inside towards the drawing room. Zoe threw her bag on the sofa and plopped down beside it. She laid back and closed her eyes, letting weariness wash over her.
“Here.” She opened her eyes to see her father handing her a glass of red wine. “I hear it’s good for you.”
“Thanks, Daddy,” she took a sip of the rich, red liquid.
The aroma of the merlot was titillating and she slowly began to relax. She hadn’t realized how tough it would be to manage her father’s company and she wasn’t even handling all of the responsibilities associated with the position yet. Her father remained president and would continue to be for several months to come. She had a lot to learn and it wasn’t easy. And now the Accounts department was short-staffed with Aiden supposedly on leave to take care of his grandmother. Of course, knowing the truth about that situation didn’t make the staffing issues less relevant.
Mrs. Henry wanted to hire someone else but she refused the suggestion and told her to make do until Aiden’s return. She explained that to let Aiden go or bring someone in permanently to fill the position could put the company in danger of a lawsuit. Zoe did promise to consider Mrs. Henry’s suggestion of hiring a temp through a staffing agency. Aiden was badly needed. The bulk of his work was comprised of tasks he alone knew how to perform and he was good at his job. She hadn’t told anyone but since the previous Friday she had been contemplating having him come back to work. The only thing holding her back was her need to be certain it was the best decision. Well, maybe that wasn’t the only reason.
“What’s bugging you, sweetheart?” Her father sat in the chair opposite hers sipping mineral water.
“This thing with the accounts; it’s getting to me. Now that Uncle David is away for a few days and Aiden is out of the office, Mrs. Henry is pressuring me to hire someone else.” David had taken a few days, citing personal reasons. He did so every few months but he hardly took extended vacations or sick days and he always gave plenty of notice.
“The decision is totally up to you Zoe, but you can’t put this off too long. The accounts are falling behind and if they fall too far behind, it starts to affect the other departments.”
Her father was no help. She had hoped he would tell her exactly what steps she needed to take but he wasn’t being a father at the moment, he was being her mentor, trying to teach her a lesson, and it was infuriating.
“Daddy, what would you do?”
“I’d do what’s best for the company,” Steve stated with a smile. He knew he wasn’t giving her the answers she wanted but reinstating Aiden would have to be her decision.
“Awww… I don’t want the politically correct answer,” she sighed.
Her wine glass now empty, she got up and placed it on the sidebar, took up her bag from the sofa, and kissed her father on the forehead.
“I’ll be in my room.”
“Okay. See you at dinner,” Steve replied, watching his daughter climb the stairs and noting how like her mother she was in the way she moved.
She welcomed the sanctuary of her room and, as she had done downstairs, dropped the bag on her daybed and followed suit with her body. Before dinner she needed to see Mason, and before that, before she could face any more stressful news, she needed a bath.
She drew a steaming bath and poured in some bath salts followed by the relaxing and aromatic lavender essential oil. It was her favorite scent and was great for relieving both achy muscles and a stressful mind. She peeled off her dark blue skirt suit and underwear and turned the faucet off before lowering herself into the hot water.
It was exactly what the doctor ordered. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and tried to think of something, anything other than work. All she came up with were those blue eyes looking down at her by the lake. She shook her head and tried to think of something else. She wasn’t sure if it was her memory or imagination, but her heart started to beat faster at the vision she conjured.
She was almost ten years old and wearing a pale green dress she’d picked out. Her red hair fell wildly to her waist. It was sometime after the lake incident and her mother’s friend was coming over for lunch. She saw herself pacing and anxious because the blue-eyed boy was coming over with her.
Her heart was beating erratically as she willed the memory to retreat but it wouldn’t heed her bidding. The boy and his mother arrived right on time. She was blond, pretty, and very pregnant. Zoe stood at the top of the stairs as they came in and she saw he was carrying wild honeysuckle. They looked like the ones by the lake house.
Zoe laid back and rested her head on the edge of the tub.
He stood there looking so nervous that she giggled. She never giggled, but she did that day. He was wearing beige slacks and a burgundy sweater. His brown hair fell loosely at his nape and his blue eyes sparkled when he looked at her. As he handed her the bunch of flowers, she pecked him on the cheek.
Her eyes flew open and she decided she had to face Aiden. This is all ridiculous. How could I have forgotten the first boy I ever liked? “Oh God!” she said aloud. “I liked him. I really liked him.”
She quickly exited the bath and let the water out. Just as quickly, she dried herself and pulled on a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. Pulling her hair into a ponytail took five seconds, and then she grabbed her keys and headed out the door.
There was no one in the foyer and she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to have to explain her actions. She had no idea what she would say if someone asked where she was going. She needed to know what he remembered and if he had remembered all along, why hadn’t he said anything about it to her.
The lawn was neatly cut now, but it only emphasized the peeling of the paint – though some paint buckets and scrapers by the garage indicated that might soon be fixed too. She’d gotten out of the car when she registered that there was a small yellow car parked next to a motorbike in addition to the company car that still sat in the driveway. He had company. She should have called ahead. She started
to turn back but before she could make up her mind, a young woman in a tight red dress walked out the front door, followed by the accountant. The blond girl kissed him soundly on the lips before getting into the yellow car and pulling out.
What am I doing here? She took a step towards her car but he had spotted her and called her name.
“Miss Dunmore?” Her spine stiffened at his voice. “Miss Dunmore!”
She twirled to face him, a glint in her eye. “Yes, may I have a word with you?”
“You were about to leave…again.”
“I saw you had…company and I didn’t want to intrude,” she stated flatly.
“Why would you come all this way and then leave?”
“Are we going to stand here all night debating or do you want to know why I came in the first place?” she returned.
“Please, come in,” he offered, leading the way into his house.
She quietly gasped at the stark contrast between interior and exterior. Inside was clean and neatly kept. She could smell the freshness and knew it was a regular kind of cleanliness and not just a one-time thing. The furniture was antique but beautifully polished and the house wasn’t as tiny as she first thought.
“Please have a seat. Can I get you anything?” Aiden asked, following her eyes.
“No, thank you. How is your grandmother?” she asked in a smooth tone. Aiden had never heard her speak in that particular tone and he realized how beautiful it sounded.
“She’s doing great under the circumstances. She should be home soon.” There was an awkward silence for about thirty seconds before he continued. “So… What brought you here?”
“Was that your girlfriend?” Zoe wanted to kick herself for asking but it just came out. She tried hastily to recover. “She’s pretty.”
“No, not really. Well… I don’t know,” he stuttered embarrassingly.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to pry…” she began.
“No, it’s fine. We met in college while she was dating someone else. She looked me up and wanted to get together but…” He trailed off with a skeptical look on his face.
“But what?”
“You realize this is the first real conversation we’ve had?”
She knew he was uncomfortable and trying to change the subject so she let him. It wasn’t her business anyway. So what if the pretty fake-blond was his girlfriend. She could care less.
“Do you remember much from your childhood?” she asked.
“Yes. Don’t you?”
She hesitated before answering. “Some. But I seem to have blocked out several parts of it.”
“What parts?” Aiden asked, not sure where this was going.
“The parts right before my mother died. At least, some of it.”
“Oh, I see.”
She stood and walked to a piano in the corner of the living room. There were many photographs displayed there. Some were of a boy and a baby mixed with several of a man and woman who seemed to adore each other.
“Those are my parents,” Aiden pointed to one of the photos with the couple. “That’s me and my little brother.” Then her eye caught a photo that appeared to have been taken more recently. It was Aiden in a baseball cap and a boy about fifteen years old. The same boy she’d seen at the movie theater. So it was his brother, she thought to herself with satisfaction.
There was a bang as someone slammed a door and footsteps approached. “Aiden!” a voice called out.
“In here. We have company,” he answered.
“Oh.” The boy approached, then his eyes widened. “It’s you!”
“Have some manners, Jack. She’s my boss,” Aiden scolded.
“No, she saved me at the theater!” Jack replied taking Zoe’s hand. “I never got to thank you.”
Jack was asked to explain and he told his brother about being interrogated by the security guard for not having a ticket after he’d lost his and how the lady gave him hers. Aiden was amused and recalled how his brother had been in a good mood after coming home the previous Friday night. Jack didn’t usually hang around when company came over but he never left Zoe’s side. He offered her soda and asked her to stay for dinner. The boy was smitten and Aiden couldn’t blame him.
“Don’t you have homework?” Jack was clearly disappointed but he did have a paper due the following day, so he reluctantly excused himself. “You sure I can’t get you anything?” Aiden asked Zoe as soon as Jack was out of the room.
“Some juice would be nice,” she said.
Feeling a little more relaxed, Zoe continued looking through the photos while Aiden fetched her drink. She noticed a cabinet beside the piano decorated with trophies, mostly for baseball and soccer.
“I’m afraid you’ve stumbled upon a sports family.” He’d brought back two glasses of orange juice. As she took the glass, their fingers touched. She quickly took a sip of the drink to quell the fire that immediately flared up her arm from her fingers.
“Yours?” she asked.
“Mine and Jack’s. He’s finally concentrating on the things he loves, like baseball.”
“Which makes you the soccer player?”
“Guilty as charged,” he chuckled. He still didn’t know why Zoe was there or why she was being so nice.
As if reading his mind she asked, “Did we know each other as kids?” Aiden’s brow creased in contemplation. Was this a trick question? He didn’t want to lie to her but if she really didn’t remember it could be awkward. “I think we did,” Zoe continued.
Aiden breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, we saw each other occasionally.”
“What I want to know is… how close were we?”
Both her hands were gripping the glass as she steadied her gaze and looked Aiden in the eye. She was only nine or ten at the time but what she remembered was having a crush on a boy who was now a grown man that she kept telling herself she couldn’t stand. She had liked him enough then that she wanted to wear a dress when they were supposed to see each other. She loathed dresses as a child but that boy made her want to wear them.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he replied, turning away.
“I think you do,” she said, fighting back tears. She would not let him see her cry. What’s wrong with me? she asked herself, willing her emotions to stay in check. “You… you saved me at the lake,” her voice trembled at the memory.
Aiden’s back stiffened before he turned and looked her in the eye. “I don’t remember.”
“Oh,” she said embarrassingly. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to go,” Zoe handed him the hardly touched glass of juice and rushed to the door.
Aiden was floored. Why did I lie about that? His feet started to move before his brain had made the decision and he caught up with her at her car. “Wait!”
She pressed the unlock button on her keychain and the car beeped in response. Her hand was outstretched to open the door when he grabbed her by the elbow. “I’m sorry. I do remember.”
There was anger on her face when she turned to face him. “Why did you say you didn’t? Is it payback for the car thing? I’m sorry I was such a bitch about it if that’s what you want to hear.”
“No, that’s not it. I thought you’d be uncomfortable remembering… us,” Aiden replied.
He was standing so close she could feel his heat. Those blue eyes penetrated her soul as they stared into her. For a moment she was lost in them. Then reality took over. She looked away.
“I want you to come back to work,” she said, in calmer tone.
“Really?” He was surprised. “This isn’t some sort of guilt thing because of what you remembered is it?”
“I assure you, Mr. Butler, it has nothing to do with our personal lives. The department needs another accountant to handle the workload and I don’t want to hire and train a new one. While I’m not comfortable giving you all the details about the… investigation, we’re confident that you are simply someone else’s scapegoat. There’s
no reason for you not to return to work.”
Before he could reply, she yanked open the car door and got in.
She drove home at light speed while contemplating her actions. She angrily slapped her palm against the steering wheel setting off the horn.
“I can’t believe I almost cried in front that—that—that,” she could not find the words to describe Aiden. “Oh God, I’ll have to see him every day now.”
Her screeching tires left Masons on the driveway and alerted Richard of her arrival. He came bustling through the front door. “Is everything all right?” he inquired as she got out of the car.
“Yes, Richard, I’m fine. Sorry about the Masons,” she apologized, making a face. She knew Richard would be the one getting rid of them and was genuinely repentant about it.
Missing dinner had not been a good idea. Now her tummy was aching. She started towards the kitchen to see if there were any leftovers.
“Zoe, I missed you at dinner. Where were you?” Mason’s voice called out behind her.
“I just… had a thing I needed to take care of. I was gonna have a snack and head to bed. It’s been a long day.”
“I have some news,” Mason told her and that caught her interest.
“You found something?” she retraced her steps to stand facing Mason. “What is it?”
“Allan Peters,” he stated.
“Who’s Allan Peters?”
“He’s the one who’s been getting all the money. It’s been happening for ten years and every time there’s a new junior accountant the corporation, he’s connected to changes.”
“I don’t recognize the name at all. Who could he be?”
“We need to set a trap,” said Mason.
He told her that maybe if they brought in an independent auditor to officially go over the company’s finances, someone would get nervous and try to start covering their tracks. That could reveal the culprit.
Chapter 8
The night was long. It seemed no matter how sleepy or tired she was, rest didn’t come easy. She would wake up in cold sweats, dreaming of Allan Peters whose face she could not see. He stole her money, then he stole her parents, and finally he’d come to steal her. Just when he was about to snatch her, he showed his face and he was Lucas, but he was holding something. He held up a trophy as if to mock her then she felt herself falling…falling…falling.
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